This invention relates to trigger mechanisms, and in particular to a trigger device for crossbows having an automatic safety.
Trigger devices for crossbows, such as the mechanism disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,490,429, issued to D. S. Benedict on Jan. 20, 1970, have included safety members for selectively holding or locking the trigger against inadvertent movement. Such devices do not include means for automatically activating the safety when the crossbow is cocked, and are generally not designed for use in conjunction with high tension crossbows.
The primary objects of the present invention are: to provide a crossbow with a trigger device for crossbows having an automatic safety mechanism; to provide such a device having a bowstring retaining arm, a trigger arm, and a safety lever, wherein rotation of the retaining arm into a cocked position contemporaneously pivots the safety lever into a locked position; to provide such a device for use with high tension crossbows; to provide such a device wherein the crossbow string engages the retaining arm and pivots the same into the cocked position; to provide such a device which includes a bowstring guard disposed over the top portion of the device for guiding the bowstring into engagement with the retaining arm and cocking the same; to provide such a device having a resilient bumper mounted in the housing and disposed in the rotational path of the bowstring retaining arm for limiting the rotation of retaining arm subsequent to bowstring release; to provide such a device having a leaf spring urging the retaining arm into a normally, generally, vertical orientation for efficient crossbow cocking; to provide such a device wherein a trigger arm edge which engages the release arm is arcuately shaped along a center concentric with the axis of a retaining pin connecting the same in the housing for smoooth bowstring release; and to provide such a device which is economical to manufacture, and particularly well adapted for the proposed use.
Other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein are set forth, by way of illustration and example, certain embodiments of this invention.